1. Franklin-Simpson- What a difference a year makes! The Wildcats atoned for a drubbing in the 2016 Finals and were the King of the Class. Tre Bass and Carlos McKinney will have big years and Franklin-Simpson should once again be a threat to play 15 games.

 

2. Johnson Central- The Golden Eagles reached their third straight 4A Championship game but fell short. Though JC replaces Mr. Do-It-All Blake Gamble, expect stud RB Joe Jackson to return from injury and once again threaten for 2000+ yards.

 

3. Ashland Paul Blazer- Braxton Ratliff will be one of the most dynamic talents in Class 4A and will make Ashland a tough out. The Tomcats finally bested their rival Johnson Central, only to see JC rebound to knock them off in the playoffs. Blake Hester will be a big key.

 

4. Collins- After a 3-2 start the Titans rattled off 8 straight wins before falling in a nail biter to eventual State Champ Franklin-Simpson. Collins loses dynamic QB JR Lucas and will have to address his lost first and foremost, but there is plenty of talent to be optimistic about.

 

5. Logan County- The Cougars were one of the greatest stories of 2017 with their dramatic turnaround winning their first 11 games. For those thinking it was a flash in the pan, be prepared... Logan County will most likely be even better in 2018. Their three top Offensive threats all return.

Logan County will step back. As bad as they were before? Probably not. But many still can’t figure out how they beat Hoptown and Madisonville in the regular season last year, and the Tigers proved why in the playoffs. I see a 7-3 season this time around.

Wayne County vs. Johnson County

Franklin Simpson vs. Collins

 

I think I got the cross district right

Hopkinsville should be highly ranked!

Warren East will be a strong football team and should be way up in the rankings imo.

We have 18 starters coming back in 2018, I expect another big year, maybe not undefeated regular season but that's why we play the game. I agree hoptown should be ranked high, madisonville returns alot as well and shouldn't be over looked. Time will tell, looking forward to Friday night lights again soon.

Interesting top 5. I think FS will be stout again this season....but I'm not sure if Preston can work his magic for a 3rd straight trip to the championship. FS has some holes to fill...so we'll have to see how it washes out.

 

I think JC will be better if the Jackson kid is back 100%. That remains to be seen.

 

IMO, Ashland is too high.

 

Hoptown should be strong. Gonna be interesting out west

Brady, Baker, Thomas and Harvey will be hard to replace, but don’t sell Preston short, the guy can flat out coach. FS- JC will meet again, I’m my opinion.

Believe me......I think Preston is a heckuva coach. He's done good things everywhere he went. That being said, FS lost a lot. I just don't know if the talent will be there to make it back to Kroger Field. It won't be the lack of coaching.

I don't know that I would put Mercer top 5 as they have some holes to fill but they got beat by Collins 34-28 in the playoffs and threw a pick in the endzone as time expired that would have won the game. Collins only got beat by Franklin Simpson 42-38 so they were close last year.

FS has a lot of holes to fill, but believe as you do @Big Jake they won’t be lacking in the coaching dept.

I do wonder about all the talk about Hoptown too. I believe they lost a lot of their heavy hitters. WE also lost some big hitters. I think Madisonville will be a force this year. They got wasted at Franklin last year, but I think they return almost everyone.

I was wrong on my cross bracket:

2018

 

D1 vs. D2

Franklin Simpson

 

D3 vs. D5

Mercer County

 

D4 vs D6

Wayne County

 

D7 vs. D8

Johnson Central

I think Madisonville will be a force this year. They got wasted at Franklin last year, but I think they return almost everyone.

 

It wouldn't have mattered last year because FS was so good but I believe Madisonville was without several key players in that game due to injury. If those kids are back then the Maroons should be on the uptick.

I just really like how much Hoptown improved. And they get back do it all RB Dillard. Look for QB Bland’s year two in Clayton’s system to be tough to handle. I’d give them the edge over Logan.

Logan County may have gotten overlooked some last year and I’m sure that won’t happen this time around. But with what they have returning and Adler on their side, I pick them over Hoptown and Madville